An Unlikley Addict Blog

Since September is National Recovery Month (https://recoverymonth.gov/), I thought I would revisit the topic of stigma reduction… Stigma prevents addicts from getting the help they

What is Vivitrol? Vivitrol is an extended release Naltrexone. It is a non-addictive medication to prevent relapse in opioid addicted people and is given by

I am a nurse. I am also a recovering addict. I have been in recovery for 14 consecutive years now. That seemed an impossible feat

My Mother has been diagnosed with cancer. As difficult as that is to type, there is nothing I can do to change it. As the

Milwaukee’s Drug Treatment Court 30Sep18 You may or may not be aware of Milwaukee’s Drug Treatment Court. It started in 2009 and is designed to

These Children Need Our Help Drug and alcohol addiction adversely impacts families, especially children, nobody would argue that. As discussed in the article linked below,

Reducing the Stigma of Addiction 29Apr2018 Stigma prevents addicts from getting the help they need. Stigma they place on themselves-“I am so worthless. Why would

21Jan18  This week Governor Walker signed two executive orders. The first order will create a Governor’s Commission on Substance Abuse Treatment Delivery. The commission will

We are a society that likes to place blame. It’s not my fault, don’t blame me. So who do we think is to blame for

06Aug17 The Opioid Commission has told President Trump to declare a national public health emergency to combat the ongoing opioid crisis. They think he is

11Jun17 What is Carfentanil? Fox 6 News reported Saturday June 10th that the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner announced they have responded to 12 probable drug

14May17 Alternatives to Opioids As a society, we are too quick to use opioid pain relievers. They certainly have their place, but in this world

02Apr2017 Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome Neonatal abstinence syndrome, or NAS, occurs in newborns exposed to opiate drugs while in the mother’s womb and can cause withdrawal

05Mar17 How big is the problem of healthcare workers and addiction? I have been preparing to give a presentation to nursing students at a nearby

Perhaps you heard that the doctor who stood accused of overprescribing pain medications to such a degree that he was dubbed the “Candy Man” surrendered

08Jan2017 “Combating Opioid Abuse: A Report to Governor Scott Walker” https://hope.wi.gov/Documents/ReportOnCombatingOpioidAbuse.pdf Last week the Governor’s Task Force on Opioid Abuse met to release recommendations to

11Dec16 First-Degree Reckless Homicide/Delivery of Drugs http://www.jsonline.com/story/news/crime/2016/11/30/seller-guilty-fatal-overdose-concordia-student/94683514/ At only 24 years of age, Shuntaye Crenshaw was found guilty of first-degree reckless homicide/delivery of drugs in

27Nov16 Insurance Companies, The Next Group to Join the Fight? https://news.aetna.com/2016/08/opioid-super-prescribers/ http://www.cnn.com/2016/05/19/health/health-insurance-companies-opioid-epidemic/index.html I came across the above articles and I found them interesting, although a

30Oct16 Wisconsin’s Opiate Epidemic http://newstalk1130.iheart.com/articles/features-496067/the-epidemic-of-our-time-heroin-14193070/ Narcotic deaths: The number one cause of accidental deaths, now exceeds auto accident deaths. Since the turn of the century,

02Oct16 On September 27, 2016, Governor Scott Walker released the launch of a task force to address the use and abuse of heroin and prescription

14Sep16 Wisconsin Nurses Association “Nurses Caring for Nurses” Peer Assistance Program http://wisconsinnurses.org/about-wna/affiliates/nurses-caring-for-nurses-peer-assistance/ Wisconsin Nurses Association (WNA)has a peer assistance program called “Nurses Caring for Nurses”,

28Aug16 Milwaukee’s Pill Mill http://archive.jsonline.com/news/crime/pain-doctor-oxyczar-assistant-indicted-over-pill-mill-b99749954z1-384286151.html Pill mills are a problem in Wisconsin. Here is just one example – on June 24th of this year the

07Aug16 Today I would like to share a bit about the Florida Board of Nursing’s “Intervention Project for Nurses” or IPN. It is similar to

10Jul16 Physicians for Responsible Opiate Prescribing (PROP) There is a group, Physicians for Responsible Opiate Prescribing, whose “mission is to reduce opioid-related morbidity and mortality

CNN: FDA approves device to wean addicts off heroin. Read the full article here…http://www.cnn.com/2016/05/27/health/fda-approves-implant-to-treat-opioid-addicts/ The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved a drug-emitting implant

05Jun16 I was shocked when I heard that Prince died of a fentanyl overdose. I don’t suppose I should have been, but I was. Prince

15May16 Wisconsin’s H.O.P.E. Agenda I am not a political person. I have a hard time trusting what politicians say. Their agendas seem to be for

01May2016 Black Box Warnings… The FDA has made some changes to try and stem the flow of prescription drug abuse. One of their solutions, put

There was a pharmacy owner in the news recently for filling fraudulent prescriptions. He was caught as a direct result of PDMP. Let’s take a

03Apr2016 Devastating Loss… Last month I heard about a young nurse, age 23, who died of a heroin overdose. Jessica Ludwiczak was dropped off at

13Mar16 Making the Change to Random Drug Screens… What are the next steps when your facility is ready to make a change because they are

21Feb2016 http://fox6now.com/2016/02/19/medical-examiner-19-deaths-related-to-fentanyl-since-end-of-december/ MILWAUKEE COUNTY — Milwaukee County is seeing a dramatic spike in deaths related to the drug Fentanyl. The Milwaukee County Medical Examiner’s Office

31Jan2016 The SHUNT survey… This week I would like to share a book that I read recently. Unbecoming a Nurse, Bypassing the Hidden Chemical Dependency

17Jan16 11 years and counting I have been sober 11 years today, 11 years. It does not seem possible that 11 years has passed since

10Jan16 The Obsession The obsession that accompanies addiction is the topic for this week. I know this obsession well, I have lived with it. The

02Jan16 As I sit here today with my good friend Butch and his daughter Paige, I am reminded that life is very short. Paige has

Instead of giving care to their patients, some healthcare workers are giving their patients Hepatitis C. I have recently been enlightened about this issue. I

This week I had an opportunity to tell my story to a Fox 6 News investigative reporter, Meghan Dwyer. I was a bit nervous but

The issue of whether or not to drug test healthcare workers who have access to controlled substances is a controversial one. For some reason there

Is addiction a disease? There are different definitions of disease. To begin this discussion, we should review the definition… The World Health Organization (WHO) defines

Chemical dependency…drug addiction…is a deadly disease. The latest fentanyl death is Nathan Orlofsky, a 28-year-old doctor and anesthesiology resident at the Medical College of Wisconsin,

There are a few different types of treatment options for chemical dependency issues. Deciding which is right for you should be a decision made with

Hello! Today’s topic: What do you do when you think someone is abusing substances? I think there are two main questions related to this topic…Should

If we don’t acknowledge there is a problem, how can we develop a solution? If you reviewed last week’s articles you know there is a

I thought I would give a few examples of nurses in similar situations to mine lest you think I am the only one. It is

Hi again! Below is a general Policy and Procedure for the implementation of random drug screens for those healthcare workers with controlled substance access. This

Hello, I would like to start by giving you my thoughts on randomly drug testing healthcare workers throughout their employment. I know there is some

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